Halestorm
Royal Arena, Copenhagen - 2025
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
For the ungrateful task of supporting a giant like Iron Maiden on their 50th anniversary tour, the American hard rock/metal band Halestorm was picked. Not that they’re exactly spring chickens themselves, but Maiden as a band have still been around for longer than any in Halestorm have been alive, even though Halestorm is creeping up on their own 30th anniversary.
Royal Arena was far from filled yet, but there were still a lot of people seated or standing at the ready for Halestorm’s 45 minutes of fame, and the band members were greeted warmly when they took the stage. Frontwoman Lzzy Hale walked in by herself after the rest of the band had settled, wearing knee-high boots, above elbow gloves, and a bathing suit kind of outfit with “I’m a fallen star” written across her chest, and a huge, black, hooded cape with silver and gold serpents slithering the length of it. This was of course when the crowd started showing that they really meant it, as they screamed and cheered her presence on.
The hood didn’t stay on long, as Lzzy Hale began headbanging immediately, as the band threw themselves into the first furious track of several this coming concert.
As announced by her clothing, Fallen Star was the first track out, and it landed well with the gathered audience who continued shouting and raised their fists in support and appreciation.
Even nearly completely covered up as she was, it was clear to see that Lzzy Hale was the magnet of the band. Both Joe Hottinger and Josh Smith looked relaxed and loose, and neither shied away from interacting with the audience and throwing plectres for them already from track two, and while Arejay Hale would get to shine later he was a bit anonymous in the beginning. It was Lzzy Hale that sucked attention towards herself with the force of a black hole however, and while I doubt it was something intentional, it was just the result of her magnificent presence and personality that shone through. After the second song, she lost the cape and became even more active in her performance.
Arejay hale had a lot of fun doing tricks with his drumsticks though, and to his credit, when he missed out on grabbing one of his sticks after a particularly high through, he only smiled and shrugged it off, knowing full well he’d f’ed it up while being watched by the masses - and so what? He too became more active as the show went on, and at the calm start of Darkness Always Wins, we saw him stand on top of the drumkit, getting everyone to clap their hands, but for me, nothing beat the ridiculously oversized drumsticks he pulled out towards the end of his drum solo - that was hilarious!
Copenhagen had a lot of fun in Halestorm’s company, and it was clear that they weren’t satisfied with being a mere anonymous support act - they were going to give the old icons a run for their money, something that Halestorm proved to do exceptionally well. They delivered far above expectations, and helped fill the evening out in a near perfect way.
Setlist:
Fallen Star
I Miss The Misery
Love Bites (So Do I)
Watch Out!
Darkness Always Wins
Rain Your Blood On Me
Solo (Arejay Hale)
Back From The Dead
Mz. Hyde
Everest
Royal Arena was far from filled yet, but there were still a lot of people seated or standing at the ready for Halestorm’s 45 minutes of fame, and the band members were greeted warmly when they took the stage. Frontwoman Lzzy Hale walked in by herself after the rest of the band had settled, wearing knee-high boots, above elbow gloves, and a bathing suit kind of outfit with “I’m a fallen star” written across her chest, and a huge, black, hooded cape with silver and gold serpents slithering the length of it. This was of course when the crowd started showing that they really meant it, as they screamed and cheered her presence on.
The hood didn’t stay on long, as Lzzy Hale began headbanging immediately, as the band threw themselves into the first furious track of several this coming concert.
As announced by her clothing, Fallen Star was the first track out, and it landed well with the gathered audience who continued shouting and raised their fists in support and appreciation.
Even nearly completely covered up as she was, it was clear to see that Lzzy Hale was the magnet of the band. Both Joe Hottinger and Josh Smith looked relaxed and loose, and neither shied away from interacting with the audience and throwing plectres for them already from track two, and while Arejay Hale would get to shine later he was a bit anonymous in the beginning. It was Lzzy Hale that sucked attention towards herself with the force of a black hole however, and while I doubt it was something intentional, it was just the result of her magnificent presence and personality that shone through. After the second song, she lost the cape and became even more active in her performance.
Arejay hale had a lot of fun doing tricks with his drumsticks though, and to his credit, when he missed out on grabbing one of his sticks after a particularly high through, he only smiled and shrugged it off, knowing full well he’d f’ed it up while being watched by the masses - and so what? He too became more active as the show went on, and at the calm start of Darkness Always Wins, we saw him stand on top of the drumkit, getting everyone to clap their hands, but for me, nothing beat the ridiculously oversized drumsticks he pulled out towards the end of his drum solo - that was hilarious!
Copenhagen had a lot of fun in Halestorm’s company, and it was clear that they weren’t satisfied with being a mere anonymous support act - they were going to give the old icons a run for their money, something that Halestorm proved to do exceptionally well. They delivered far above expectations, and helped fill the evening out in a near perfect way.
Setlist:
Fallen Star
I Miss The Misery
Love Bites (So Do I)
Watch Out!
Darkness Always Wins
Rain Your Blood On Me
Solo (Arejay Hale)
Back From The Dead
Mz. Hyde
Everest
Halestorm
